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Page 22A | The Scarsdale Inquirer
k Garden
April 12, 2013
Wow factor Continued from page 13A they can see what it looks like and makes you more objective of how things look to other people.” Pictures also show if a room is too crowded. Wilson always takes photographs of the rooms and finds out how the family lives, how they handle storage, etc. “You have to understand what will make life easier for clients,” she said. As an example Wilson related how one client had a numbers of doors to go through and close when coming in through the side door. The doors made it too difficult to carry packages into the house. She suggested taking down a wall to eliminate unnecessary doors to make the house function better and make life easier for the client, and it worked like a charm. For a big two-story family room with a 65-inch television, Wilson created the focal point away from the TV “down low to ground the space” using big wing chairs with deep chocolate brown and wine fabrics and the same chocolate brown fabric as throw pillows on the couch. “I had to change the dynamic from the TV being the wow factor to something else,” Wilson said. “You have to understand scale, scale, scale — how big are the windows? How big are the walls? What do you see when you enter a room? What is creating that dynamic?” Whether using a designer or not, Wilson suggested looking at design books in a bookstore and tearing out pictures of what you like and don’t like. She stressed it was almost more important to find out what you don’t like. And don’t forget about good balanced overhead light, lighting in a closet, a kitchen and good reading light.
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Wilson sometimes works as a consultant, although most people hire her to design a room, a house or an apartment. “Usually there is a favorite piece of furniture or an heirloom people want to keep in a room… that may not work in the room, but we might put it somewhere else. Sometimes it needs to be moved around,” she said. “You have to understand the ‘bones’ of a room… you have to know scale and perspective to know what to put into a room.” When asked where people should start when redecorating a room and what to buy first, Wilson said to decide where the focal point would be by walking into the room and deciding what immediate impression they want to create. The function of the room will determine what you put in it. “In the bedroom if the bed is the first thing you see you want it to be gorgeous, and not see the laundry,” Wilson said. She advised that if you’re not using a decorator to design the room, don’t be afraid to hire one for a few hours as a consultant for some professional advice. To further decide what you might like, use the photos you’ve taken of the room and get some tracing paper and add some “what if ” changes you could make to the room over the tracing paper to help you think outside the box. Think about what you want the room to feel like — do you want it bold, soft, cozy? What are the dynamics? Do you want it just for wow factor for entertaining or for comfort? She also suggested thinking about the sound absorption of the room. “Surround yourself with things you love and buy good quality,” Wilson said. “Buy what you can afford, but buy well… from flea markets, antique stores, tag sales. Don’t be afraid of those options… there are lots of sources out there. It doesn’t need to cost thousands!”
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